a sad void in the New Year

The call comes at an unusual time of day,

and we know something is not right.

Nothing ever prepares you for the unexpected shock;

'Roger didn't make it.'

A trip to the hospital, a collapsed lung, cardiac arrest.

Words we hope never ever to hear.

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”
  - C.S. Lewis

As I write, Mark is traveling to be with his mother

in the loss of Roger, her beloved husband, 

the gentle, cheerful grandfather of our children,

Fort Pulaski, 2008

and Mark's kind stepfather of almost 20 years.

Celebrating last New Year - January 1st, 2013

Just last New Year we were all together;

Mark's family joined around the table,

laughing, sharing,

celebrating the turn of another year.

This New Year there is such a sad void,

and something very much amiss
without him.
We love you, Roger, and our hearts miss you already.

“Give sorrow words; 

the grief that does not speak 

knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.”
  -William Shakespeare

So we give words to our sorrow, and invite you to please pray:

* for Mark's mother in her grief 

* for the rest of the family

* For Mark as he travels (giving thanks that his passport, visa and tickets came together so smoothly)

* for the rest of us in Mark's absence.

thank you, dear friends...